The Wilkes Central soccer team has played four games so far in 2017 and not only has it won all four of those games, the Eagles have allowed just one goal.
On Tuesday night in Moravian Falls, the Eagles knocked off Saint Stephen’s 2-1 in a matchup of the two champions of the second annual Wilkes County Cup that concluded Saturday.
“We still have a lot of work to do but I’m really pleased with the progression and the way we’re going,” Wilkes Central Head Coach Jim Caudill said. “Especially the back line, they’re giving me the stuff that they need to do to. We’re learning more each match in different situations and I think we’ll score goals. That’s our main emphasis right now.”
The Eagles took advantage of a slow start from the Indians and Lenny Lopez scored the game’s opening goal in the 13th minute after he capitalized on a misplayed clearance. After collecting the ball, he drove to the goal and finished down the middle as keeper Josiah Ortiz dove to his right.
That lead held until late in the first half when Saint Stephen’s put together a late surge. In the 36th minute, after a pair of great saves from Wilkes Central keeper Kyle Barger, the Indians finally broke through when Dylan Zavala made a move along the end line and then finished near post.
The equalizer looked to swing the momentum firmly in Saint Stephen’s favor but that didn’t carry over into the second half. 
Wilkes Central moved back in front in the 61st minute when Brandon Lopez sent in a cross from the right wing and Andy Gomez headed it off the far post and into the net. 
“I want us to get hungry, just animalistic, in the box and go find it because good teams seem to do that,” Caudill said. “They make the most of their chances and that’s what we talked about last night. Last night we won 1-0 (against West Stokes) and pretty much dominated the match but we only had one goal. So that sort of shows that we need to finish more.”
Saint Stephens pushed for another equalizer but hit just four shots on target in the second half and each was turned away by either Barger or Parker Langston, who came on in the final 20 minutes.
In the 73rd minute, Langston tipped a free kick service from the Indians but couldn’t control the ball. It bounced around in the six-yard box for a moment before a shot came out and missed just wide.
“Kyle’s got a little gimpy knee and he performed outstandingly, he did everything I needed him to do. Parker is from that side, so I wanted to give him a little taste of playing against who he played with last year and I thought he would be a little more attentive that late in the game,” Caudill said about making the switch. “It’s like starting the game all over with 20 minutes left and I have a brand new, fresh keeper in there and he did a good job.”
The Eagles will put their perfect record on the line Tuesday when they travel to Forbush.